Doctor Lisa helps Moscow's homeless brave the winter

By Wolfgang Jung Feb 10, 2012, 13:01 GMT

Moscow - A vicious frost has Moscow firmly in its icy grip, and people in the Russian capital are struggling to cope with temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius.

It has been the hardest winter in decades, and the homeless are among those suffering the most. An estimated 100,000 people live on the streets of Moscow. At least 30 of them have frozen to death this winter.

The homeless seek refuge in hallways, nestle up to heating ducts and scour dustbins in search of nourishment. They cannot count on help from the government, and assistance from private organizations is often their only chance of survival.

Those coming to their aid include Doctor Yelisaveta Glinka who is for the homeless an icon of compassion.

On a bitterly cold February morning at number 6 Koshevnitsheskaya Street, hundreds of people are waiting for doctor Lisa, as they call her.

At about 5 pm, two vans pull up at the parking lot close to Pavelezker Station. A ripple goes through the crowd of destitute, drug addicts, alcoholics and others in search of help.

Flanked by six assistants, the doctor gets out of one of the vehicles. 'First the women, then the disabled, after that the elderly and then the rest,' she says firmly, her voice muffled by her mask. 'Many of my clients have tuberculosis,' she explains.

The charity seekers queue up obediently.

With her organization Fair Aid, Glinka has for three years been helping the helpless - people who have been turned away by the authorities and clinics in Moscow.

'It may sound funny, but I am doing what I enjoy,' Glinka tells dpa, as she hands out cups of hot cocoa and warm soup. Medicine and clothing are distributed from the second van.

If Glinka is unable to help someone, she organizes appointments for them with officials. Working with public offices is a painfully slow process, said Nikolai, one of the helpers.

'These people are not the 'detritus of an affluent society' as many call them,' he says. The kind of social infrastructure present in many Western European countries is unknown in Russia, 'where everyone has to fend for himself.'

The aid organization functions on donations.

'I'm so grateful to doctor Lisa,' says Sergei, 43, as he takes a mug of soup from her.

Sergei ended up on the street through no fault of his own, the homeless man is at pains to point out. When he takes off his gloves, the open wounds are there for all to see.

'I don't care whether the stories are true or not,' said Glinka. 'Many of them are made up, but that isn't important. The main thing is that we help.'

In the basement offices of Fair Aid, boxes full of clothes are piled high. On the wall hangs a portrait of Sergei Mironov of the centre-left A Just Russia party, who is patron of the organization.

Mironov is standing against Vladimir Putin, the current prime minister, in the presidential election on March 4. Glinka says she does not expect the vote to bring about any fundamental change.

In any case, Glinka does not have much time for politics, 'especially not during this extreme winter.' The temperature in Moscow is set to fall again at the weekend - down to -32 Celsius.